Planning for Divorce in Texas
Careful Planning Can Dramatically Improve Your Position
If divorce is a possibility in your future, advance planning can help you identify and protect your personal, familial and financial interests. Once divorce papers have been filed, important documents and assets can disappear.
If you think you will potentially be dealing with a divorce in Texas, Houston divorce attorney Kimberly D. Levi wishes to assure you that careful thought and planning will virtually always be to your benefit. Whether you are merely interested in gaining an understanding of your rights and the law in Texas regarding divorce or you feel that your spouse is considering divorce, gathering information on the subject will make you better able to handle whatever lies ahead. Contact Ms. Levi’s law office in Houston, Texas, to discuss divorce planning options.
The Decision Is Yours, but Be Prepared Regardless
If divorce appears unavoidable, accurate information gathering and planning ahead will ensure a vast improvement in your legal position. Waiting until the last minute to gain an understanding of what you may be facing will only result in obstacles being placed in your path that give your spouse a distinct advantage if he or she has already become familiar with the lay of the land.
Kimberly Levi does not and will not encourage you to become divorced, as that decision can rest only with you or your spouse. However, when a divorce seems inevitable or you suspect that your spouse feels that it has become inevitable, you need quick and accurate information that will aid you in navigating the path with the most success and the least friction and trauma. The more time you have for divorce planning, the more time you will have to gather the information you will need to achieve success regarding custody of your children or a favorable division of community property.
Should I File Divorce — Or Wait Until My Spouse Files?
In most cases, success in a divorce suit does not have anything to do with which party filed first. If a case must go to trial, the party who filed for divorce typically presents his or her case first. It must be noted, however, that, at times, it can truly be more advantageous to be the responding party at the time of final trial because you will get to hear/learn most aspects of your spouse’s case first.
One exception, which has nothing really to do with filing first but rather with simple preparation, can be when a divorce matter will involve complicated issues that must be decided at the very beginning of a divorce case on a temporary basis while the litigation is pending. Such complicated issues may involve temporary child custody or which spouse will have temporary use of certain property, such as martial residence and vehicles, while the divorce is pending.
Typically, a family law litigant in Texas is entitled to only three days’ notice of any hearing involving temporary matters (such as temporary child custody or use of property). It is not hard to identify the challenges that might be associated with having only three days’ notice of an impending court hearing regarding the custody of your children or on which spouse will be entitled to live in the marital homestead while the divorce is pending. When these issues are anticipated, or are even a possibility, preparation can be the key.
- Learn more about protecting assets and separate property.
- Learn more about spousal maintenance.
- Learn more about divorce with children.
- Learn more about child custody and visitation.
Contact Kimberly D. Levi today to schedule a consultation to discuss what you need to know to properly prepare for a divorce action in Texas.